The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.
Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc. are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.
SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure. The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format. Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card. Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production. The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.
When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g. between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g. between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load. This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips. Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method. Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.
From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method. The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side. The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like. Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g. also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form. Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge. After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded. In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive. The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded. In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g. by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.
A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged.